RECORDINGS Photo by Rahav Segev Dayna Stephens Trio Liberty The leader/tenor saxophonist, bassist Ben Street, and MVP jazz drummer ERIC HARLAND succeed brilliantly in a challenging chord-less format. Eric Harland is frequently praised for his inventive orchestrations and interplay, among other myriad talents; this beautifully recorded minimal setting of sax, bass, and drums offers an exposed clarity that brings those virtues to the foreground. Approaching the kit as a balanced single instrument, Harland exhibits a pulse that’s firm but subtle, while also avoiding ride cymbal dependency. On “Kwooked Stweet,” his canvas of fluid, swirling swing conveys the sweep of a larger ensemble. In contrast, “The Lost and Found” is colored by his slow, slinky, hip-hop-ish backbeat, threaded with 16ths that alternate between snare ghosting, varied hi-hat attacks, and rim taps, all buttered with rolling dynamics. Harland is utterly without cliché, using the music’s wide spaces for promoting collaborative ideas rather […]

July 2020 Issue